(ZIMONLINE) US urged to soften Mugabe criticism

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

(ZIMONLINE) US urged to soften Mugabe criticism

US urged to soften Mugabe criticism
by James Mombe Tuesday 07 December 2010

JOHANNESBURG – The United States (US) embassy in London last year urged Washington to tone down criticism of President Robert Mugabe and instead adopt a quieter but tougher approach towards the Zimbabwean leader, according to cables released by WikiLeaks.

In an assessment of Britain’s Africa policy, political counsellor Richard Mills, whose conclusions were apparently heavily influenced by the views of experts from several political think tanks, suggested that the UK should maintain Zimbabwe on its priority list for historical reasons.

But the US should instead strive not to be seen as too focused on Zimbabwe because, according to the experts relied upon by Mills, Washington’s interest on the southern African country was “surprising” given the fact that the Zimbabwean crisis was largely a contained matter and also because Harare poses no threat to America.

[Can you say DIAMONDS? - MrK]

“Zimbabwe should/will remain a priority for the UK for historical reasons, but the USG (United States government)’s focus is ‘surprising,’ as it is largely a contained crisis that should be treated as a regional issue. A ‘tough and quiet’ approach should be considered,” Mills wrote in a cable sent to the State Department on 6 February 2009.

While accepting the UK’s pre-occupation with Zimbabwe, Mills however appeared to criticise London’s vocal denunciations of Mugabe saying this was playing into the veteran Zimbabwean leader’s propaganda trap.

Mugabe -- who denies Western charges that he is a dictator who has ruined Zimbabwe and frequently abuses human rights -- loves to portray himself as a victim of Western imperialists out to topple him as punishment for seizing white farmland for redistribution to landless blacks.

[Because those are the facts. - MrK]

“HMG (Her Majesty’s Government)’s history of bombastic statements has only served to solidify President Mugabe’s status as a colonial liberation leader and rallied South Africa’s unwavering support,” Mills said in the cable.

Mills also counsels against attempts to internationalise Zimbabwe’s crisis and said Washington should not allow its stance on Mugabe to jeorpadise its relations with South Africa, the biggest economy on the continent and of more strategic importance to America.

The US diplomat advises against attempts to internationalise Zimbabwe’s crisis, frankly pointing out that political think tanks regard the international community’s concern about Zimbabwe being a regional destabiliser as “largely unfounded”.

Zimbabwe is among 10 countries that have the highest number of leaked US diplomatic cables in the possession of WikiLeaks.

[Which is surprising, considering that there are two wars going on in Iraq and Afghanistan. So what is more important about Zimbabwe than Iraq? - MrK]

The whistleblower website is holding 2 998 cables on Zimbabwe, with 39 of the leaked documents under the category of “secret”. 1 542 are categorised as “classified” while 1 417 are in the “unclassified” category.

Analysts in Harare say the cables -- including one by former US ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell that virtually portrayed Washington as the hand guiding Zimbabwean opposition politics -- will give Mugabe the excuse to crackdown on opponents ahead of elections expected next year. – ZimOnline